
INCIDENTS 



HON. DANIEL WEBSTER 



l.V IIELATIUX iv Tin 



LATE MISSION TO ENGLAND. 



BY CHARLES SPEAR, 



EDITOR OF "prisoners' FBiEND.'* 



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BOSTON: 

PKISONERS' FRIEND OFFICE, 
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS Washington Street. 



1853. 



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INCIDENTS 



HON. DANIEL WEBSTER 



IN RELATION TO THE 



LATE MISSION TO ENGLAND. 



BY CHARLES SPEAR, 

ii 

EDITOR OP "prisoners' FRIEND." 



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BOSTON: 

PRISONERS' FRIEND OFFICE, 

130, Washington Stbeet. 

1853. 



£"340 



ItLt.-, 



NOTE. 



The following incidents are published on account of the different views 
■which have been held in regard to the Mission to England, and especially 
to show the part that IMr. Webster actually took in carrjong it out. 



To show in what estimation the Mission was held in England, the fol- 
lowing letter is published, signed by two distinguished clergymen : — 

* The Rev. Charles Spear, from the United States, has visited the city of Worcester 
on a mission of benevolence to prisoners, and as the advocate of suitable means for 
their moral improvement. He comes well recommended by the proper authorities of 
his OTTO country, and sustained by the official sanction of Sir George Grey. He has 
preached, in this city, in the Baptist and Independent Chapels ; and delivered two 
Lectures at the latter place, to large and deeply interested audiences, on the proper 
treatment of discharged criminals, and on the general subject of prison-discipline. 

♦ We have much pleasure in testifying to the piety, self-denial, and general ex- 
cellence of Mr. Spear, and in commending him to the philanthropic and Christian 
public of our own country. 

'George Redford. 

William Crowe. 
' Worcester, Sept. 23, 1851.' 



BOSTON: 
PRINTED BY JOHN WILSON AND SON, SCHOOL STREET. 



DANIEL WEBSTER. 



« His sufferings ended with the day. 
Yet lived he at its close ; 
And breathed the long, long night away, 
In statue-like repose. 

But ere the sun, in all his state, 

Illumed the eastern skies, 
He passed through glory's morning gate. 

And walked in Paradise.' 

« 

No name fills so large a space in the public mind as that 
of Daniel Webster. To grasp the proportions of his 
intellect would be as vain as to attempt to lift a pyramid, 
or to measure the waters of the broad Mississippi. The 
nearer you approach, the more do you wonder at the enor- 
mity of his dimensions. We can only gaze at a distance ; 
then take up some trait; following it up by an illustration 
from some act in his eventful life. It would be supreme 
arrogance in us to attempt to portray the qualities of an 
intellect so grand and imposing. No writer will ever ac- 
complish the mighty task. Words are imperfect. The 
poet, warmed with all the fire of his genius, in his sublimest 
flights, will find language exhausted long before he reaches 
his own ideal * Monuments may be reared to his name, 
but no monument will ever survive his own works. The 
human intellect is imperishable as its Great Author. 

Our design is a humble one. The incidents that we re- 
late will come more appropriately from us than from any 
other. A single trait is all we aim' to illustrate. The 
anecdote belongs to no one else. It was not studied. It 
leaped out of itself. It occurred at a personal interview 
at Washington, while Mr. Webster sat in the chair of 
state. While others are bringing out from their incidents 

* After the arrival of Mr. Webster in London, where he was introduced to 
all the great men of the day, he one day was brought into contact with the 
Rev. Sydney Smith. Finding all words inadequate to express his admira- 
tion, he exclaimed, ' Good heavens ! he is a small Cathedral of himself.' 



4 Daniel Webster. 

fresh from memory, we trust we shall not be accused of 
pedantiy in adding to the common stock. We must have 
our own way in giving the relation. It is intimately con- 
nected with one of the most important events in our whole 
life. We refer to the Mission to England. Having got 
ready for the journey, we felt the importance of securing a 
name that would at once ensure attention and respect in 
Europe. Massachusetts had given its broad seal. Thou- 
sands were anxious to see the work carried out. Many 
predicted the whole would be a failure ; and they labored, 
as men usually do, very assiduously, to verify their own 
prophecies. Even after we had been appointed, our qua- 
lifications were questioned, and, as usually the case, by 
those who knew far less of the subject than we did ; who 
could not have answered the first question in the Great Al- 
phabet of |Prison Discipline. Under these circumstances, 
the wealthy and the proud supposed that Mr. Webster's 
soul was reduced to their own diminutive dimensions. Any 
application to him, they imagined, would meet with a di- 
rect refusal. Under these circumstances, we made our way 
to Washington, trembling as we went ; not with doubts of 
the eventual triumph of our cause, for those we flung to 
the winds many years ago. But oui feelings were entirely 
of another sort. We had seen or conversed with most of 
the leading men of the day. We called to mind our in- 
terview with Channing, and indeed with men of all classes ; 
but we had never before been placed precisely in the same 
position. We had once or twice spoken to Mr. Webster ; 
and he once gave a donation, saying, ' I am poor now, and 
that is all I have. If I were rich, I should give you more.' 
We thanked him, as we always do. He need not to have 
said he was poor. He could not be rich. His heart was 
too big for his purse, and his intellect had little to do with 
either. His friends looked after him, or he would have 
been an object of charity. Boston, that adored him, or, as 
Mr. Parker says, 'bought him,' raised him, at one time, 
$50,000. New York agreed to do the same, but failed. 
Our errand was not for his gold, but for his name. We 



Daniel Webster. 5 

placed one far above the other; and often in Europe did 
the name of Webster procure admission, where gold would 
have been refused. Gold cannot do every thing. It has- 
its limits, like every other perishable thing. To con- 
tinue our narrative. "We arrived at Washington. Con- 
gress was in session. All was bustle and activity. IVIinis- 
ters were preparing to leave for their foreign appointments, 
to carry out some political objects. Our mission was of 
a moral character. Having at last resolved on seeing Mr. 
Webster, we made our way to the State Department. An 
hour seemed an age. Everybody appeared to be admitted 
to his presence before we had a chance. Our turn came at 
last. Instead of that unapproachable distance that we ex- 
pected, he received us very cordially. In fact, he seemed 
to be 

in his happier hour 



Of social pleasure, ill exchanged for power. 

He heard us patiently, and then inquired what we wanted. 
' I wish your name, Sir. I am going to Em*ope to answer 
certain questions proposed by Sh- George Grey, and your 
name will carry me through.' Calling his Secretary, he 
commenced dictating the letter.* He had not proceeded far, 
when, on learning the character of this mission more fully, 
he turned those great eyes upon me, and, with much ear- 
nestness, said, ' Mr. Spear, where do you get your money ? 
How do you live ? ' No other man had eyes like Mr. Web- 
ster. There was that dark, heavy eyebrow. We had heard 
many anecdotes of those eyes ; but no one could form any 
conception of their power without being brought into con- 
tact with them. He had 

< An eye like Mars, the front of Jove himself; 
A combination and a form indeed, 
Where every god did seem to set his seal, 
To give the -world assiu:ance of a man ! ' 

* See last page. The letter was published in London, at the desire of 
Her Majesty's Principal Secretary, but withheld from the American press 
until the entire consent of Mr. Webster was obtained by a personal inter- 



6 Daniel Webster. 

To return to the question of Mi*. Webster. It was unex- 
pected. We had supposed him to be cold and indifferent, 
"in most cases, to individuals. Men who deal much with 
state affairs are apt to view men simply as belonging to the 
great body politic, and not as individuals. They forget that 
governments were made for men, not men for govern- 
ments. Men are before all institutions. In reply, we said, 
' Governments have never done any thing for this cause : 
perhaps they should.' Then he dictated for the next line, 
' Mr. Spear's work is one principally of charity, and he ex- 
pects no compensation from any government. I give him 
this letter, my dear Sir George, in order that he may be 
respectably introduced into England when he shall arrive 
there.' This was enough. The whole cause was placed 
on the highest moral ground ; that of charity. There it 
will ever stand, claiming the support of the humane and 
philanthropic of all ages. We always had divine author- 
ity. Now we had the highest human authority. 

On finishing the letter, we said, ' What will this do ? ' 
* It will do any thing you want,' was the prompt reply. 
' Is it not necessary. Sir, that the President of the United 
States should sign this letter ? ' Rising, with all his dig- 
nity and with a look and earnestness that we shall never 
forget, and with a full consciousness of his own greatness, 
he exclaimed, ' No, sir ! nobody can add to my letter I' 
This was enough. Daniel Webster could say no more. 
We dared not ask another question. In that hour he felt 
his own strength. Here was no political object to be se- 
cured; no private project to be advanced; but a great 
moral mission was to be carried out in Europe ; and his 
name he considered sufficient for any emergency. Then we 
only had the assurance. Subsequent events, both in Eng- 
land and France, proved the correctness of his assertion. 
No man questioned his authority. Every prison-door was 
thrown open for our admission. Even the entire police of 
France bowed to his power. When others could not enter, 
we were allowed free admission. That name will never lose 
its power. Ages hence, and crowned heads will tremble 



Daniel Webster. 7 

before it ; and many a traveller will be proud to say that he 
comes from the land that gave birth to Daniel Webster. 
But our naiTative is not complete. It has been said that 
he would give his name, but farther he cared not. The 
following will show that he saw that although he had 
favored a moral movement, yet that means were necessary 
to sustain it. On seeing among our friends in Boston 
the name of the Hon. Samuel Appleton, he exclaimed, 
" Wliy, Sir, there ought to he five thousatid dollars raised for 
you, in Boston alone ! ' That has never been done. Se- 
veral dear friends contributed to our Mission, and we left 
for England. What followed has been told in the pages of 
our monthly : what will follow is known only to Him who 
knows all things. Some doubts have since come up on the 
subject of property in letters. Hon. Edward Everett, who 
gave me a letter also to Hon. Abbott Lawrence, then our 
minister at the Court of St. James, is appointed, with 
others, as the literary executors of Mr. Webster. On that 
subject more hereafter. There are some facts of which the 
public are ignorant; and, when that demand is made, it will 
be found that some rules work both ways. Our article has 
extended itself farther than we intended, and therefore we 
must leave all for another day. 

The subject of our labor had his faults. We mourn 
over them. The historian must be faithful. Our labor is 
as a journalist. We are not insensible of his errors. We 
have brought out for use such incidents as we have. Mr. 
Webster has gone where he can no more receive the ho- 
mage of crowding thousands, nor where the golden sun- 
shine of applause or the blackening mists of slander can 
move his great spirit. 

* Nothing can cover his high fame but heaven, 
No pjTamids set off his memories 
But the eternal substance of his greatness ; 
To which I leave him.' 



'^ 



LETTERS OP HON. DANIEL WEBSTER AND EDWARD EVERETT. 



Letter from the Hon. Daniel Webster, Secretary of State to the 
Right Hon. Sir George Grey. 

Department of State, Washington, Feb. 7, 1851. 

My Dear Sir George, —Mr. Lawrence lias -written to the Government 
of Massachusetts, and I believe to those of some of the other States, for 
information in regard to the laws of the several States concerning Capital 
Punishment. The Governor of Massachusetts has certified, that the Rev. 
Charles Spear, of Boston, is a person well qualified to obtain and com- 
municate the desired information. Mr. Spear's pursuits as a writer and 
an editor have long connected him with this subject, and he is of known 
integrity and ability, and he has undertaken to perform that which is 
desired. His work 'is one principally of charity, and he expects no com- 
pensation from any Government. I give him this letter, my dear Sir 
George, in order that he may be respectably introduced into England, 
when he shall arrive there. I have great pleasure in assuring you once 
more of my great personal regard. 

Daniel Webster.* 
To the Right Hon. Sir George Grey, Bart. 

Rer Majesty's Principal Secretary of State for the Home Department. 



Letter from the Hon. Edward Everett to the Hon. Abbott Lawrence, 
American Minister in London. 

Cambridge, June 20, 1851. 
Dear Sir, — The Rev. Charles Spear, being about to repair to London, 
has requested of me the favor of an introduction to you. Heis no doubt 
known to you by reputation, if not personally, for his efforts in behalf of 
prisoners. Your inquiries relative to Capital Punishment in the United 
States were placed in his hands by Governor Boutwell ; and the chief 
object of his visit to England is to convey the information desired upon this 
subject, and to acquaint himself with the statistics of crime and punish- 
ment abroad. He would feel himself much indebted to you for any 
fiicilities you may procure for him in the way of access to the prisons and 
penitentiaries in England, and to those persons most likely to be able and 
willing to aid his inquiries. 

I think I ought to say that I do not concur with Mr. Spear in the 
opinion that Capital Punishment ought never to be inflicted. This is an 
extreme, as it seems to me, scarcely less dangerous than the revolting 
frequency with which it was resorted to in the last century. Though 
differing with Mr. Spear on this point, I believe him to be a conscientious 
man, sincerely devoted to a meritorious cause. 
I remain, dear sir. 

With much regard, faithfully yours, 

Edward Everett. 

* The reply of Sir George Grey to the Hon. Daniel Webster will appear as soon as 
it can be obtained from his son Fletcher Webster. 



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